Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Drove a Fusion today

Hey all, I know some of you have probably already done this as well, but I did a quick search (I did say quick) and didn't see any driving reviews per se, so I thought I'd toss one out there for any curious people.
The one I drove was an SE V6 model, so it had the auto trans, pretty basic interior with cloth, though decently loaded option wise, power seat (drivers, didn't check the pass.), of coarse power windows and locks. 6 disc in dash changer and I believe the 6 speaker audio system.
Driving impression: in a few words, it drives very nicely. I must say I don't like the auto, not for semi aggressive driving anyway, it seems to hunt between gears a fair amount. For highway cruising it would likely be excellent however. It took off much slower than I expected for the 221 hp Ford claims, but again that could be largly due to the auto trans. I drove on a decent variety of roads covering about 8-10 miles and everything from 5 lane in town with traffic to twisty, bumpy country 2 lane. The ride is nice. It's softer than I prefer in a car for fun driving, but I realize Ford needs to appeal to a broad range of people, and I don't really fit in that range. As for handling, steering response is quite good, and quick, and also has a nice weight to it. It wasn't too heavy, but it wasn't light either. The car did feel like it was wallowing a bit though, and seemed to have quite a bit of body roll. If I were to get one suspension upgrades would likely be among the first things I'd do. Cabin noise was very good for a car this cheap, and definetly tons better than my 99 SE. I drove quite a bit with the radio off and felt that if I had a passenger with me I could comfortably have a conversation with them while at highway speeds. One other minor complaint I had is the rear window visability. In the rear view, the window seems quite small and the view moderately distorted. Something I'm sure I would adjust to with time, but minorly annoying to me today.
Interior impressions: The interior seemed quite nice. I think the cloth they use is made by Velcro though, as it seemed to grab hold of my clothes to hold me in place. The seats were pretty comfy, though they don't seem to have much of a side bolster on them. I got in the back seat after my drive and sat right behind the drivers seat and was pleasantly surprised that I could comfortably sit there without my knees touching the seatback and my head not quite touching the roof. For referance I'm about 6', and 205. the sound system was quite good for a stock setup. I think Ford has been improving this area the last couple of years, and the indash changer seems like a pretty ncie feature. The car I drove also had the steering wheel mounted controls and I have to say I have fallen in love with this idea. There are many places for storing things as well, two seperate areas under the arm rest and a small area on the dash above the center stack, like on the 500 and I believe some of the F150's, as well as other current Ford models. My one big complaint applies to all new Ford vehicles, the guage layout. Whoever decided that the speedo and tach should be placed on the outside should be neutered. Everytime I tried to take a quick glance and the guages to check my speed, I found myself staring blankly at the temp and fuel guages. Speed and rpm are two of the most critical pieces of information when driving, put them in the middle for quick refernce Ford! Ok, rant over.
Overall, I think the Fusion is a pretty nice package for the price. the one I drove stickered just under 23K. With a few mods, it could be a very nice drivers car I think, and since it's built on the Mazda 6 architecture, I have to believe there are probably mods out there already. Now if they could offer it in a V6 manual I'd be seriously looking at buying one. So, there you have it, my impressions. feel free to comment as you will. Carry on.

Good review. How was the idle at stops? Was the engine nice sounding or muted?

If you sell your car I will buy the hood. Seriously.

Sound is pretty muted, and the idle was nice and smooth. In fact, the whole engine was smooth, even under good accel. I think Ford may have finally gotten the bugs worked out of the "Duratec 30" as it's now called.

And Pete, the car ain't being sold, traded, or otherwise taken from my presence. Sorry. That goes for the hood too. If i were to get a Fusion (more likely a Milan, looks better) it wouldn't be until a V6/manual combo is offered.

Thanks for the comments. BTW, for whatever it's worth, I work at a Ford dealer and this was the first and only one we've had in so far, and I think it may have actually sold later today.

Yeah, the Milan is better looking, simply because it's a Merc. Yeah, it's got the Oma stigma, but it still looks better. Eat that ya bunch of Puma-having, Ka-breedin, CONTOUR drivin, blue oval wearin hooligans! Flamesuit donned!

If I have the 3L up in TC this winter I will get in touch with you and Ryan. I'm sure Stazi, Sharkey, todd, and I will be up there for a weekend of snowboarding tho.

I guess I'm the one drinking and owned.